We are excited to see that many Camaro5 enthusiasts have now installed performance coil springs and handling packages.

We've noticed quite a few threads with questions about height and alignment for our products and others. We've put together a list of our testing numbers and experiences in order to help answer some of the more commonly asked questions. We are using numbers and images from our R&D and testing on customer cars. Due to the numerous Camaros we have modified and tested, we have built a nice data base of chassis variances and build tolerances. The bottom line is, the car is built with very tight tolerances. When compared to the earlier Camaros, the 5th gen is in a whole new league for fit and finish.

Perhaps some of the other shops and vendors can post their alignment advice as well, and this thread can be useful when speaking with alignment shops and dealerships. We want you to have the best experience possible with Hotchkis, from install to racetrack. If you find you have a question that isn't answered above, PM or call us. We want your input.

Our quick facts:

· With stock and our sport coils we have seen minute ride height variances, with most cars at or under 1/16 and only one with a corner measurement variance of 1/8

· Even after 1000s of punishing street and track miles we have not seen our sport coils settle. We design our coil springs to be low stressed and spec high tensile excellent quality steel to eliminate any possibility of material fatigue. Our coils are preset during manufacturing, compressed to coil bind to ensure proper load height, shot peened to relieve material stress and most important, are made in the USA.

· Below is a picture of the slotted strut mount standard on all Camaros. A good amount of camber adjustment is available without grinding or alignment hole modifications.

· So far we have not found it necessary to grind out any alignment holes to achieve a proper street/track performance alignment.

NOTE
These are not our recommended alignment specs. They represent the alignment range possible with our sport coils installed.

Note that increased neg. camber of the lowered car is beneficial to performance handling.

FRONT:

· CAMBER: -0.4° to -2.6°

REAR:

· CAMBER: -0.7° to -1.8°

HOTCHKIS PERFORMANCE STREET SETUP

FRONT:

· CAMBER: -1° to -1.4°

· CASTER 7.00° - 7.50°

· TOE: 1/16 TOTAL TOE IN

REAR:

· CAMBER: -0.8°

· TOE: 1/16 to 1/8 TOTAL TOE IN

HOTCHKIS TRACK DAY/STREET SETUP

FRONT:

· CAMBER: -2.0° to - 2.5°

· CASTER 7.00° - 7.50°

· TOE: 0 to 1/16 TOTAL TOE IN

REAR:

· CAMBER: -1.0° to - 1.25°

· TOE: 1/16 to 1/8 TOTAL TOE IN

We determined our recommended alignment settings through street and track testing using the stock Pirelli tires. These settings are a great place to start, offering acceptable tire wear and grip in a variety of performance driving conditions. Driving styles, track condition, tire selection, tire pressure and most importantly tire temperatures across the face of the tire are the determining factors of final alignment settings.

We have based our align specs for street and track based on professional drivers using telemetry equipment, tire temp monitoring, and recommendations from 3 professional drivers, including Paul Tracy.

The following Aggressive Street settings are recommended based on an average drop of 1 inch:

Front:

Camber to -1.0 degreescaster 7.4 to 7.8 degrees (requires adding caster Pedders Caster eccentrics to get into this range of caster, which is very benificialToe: .1 degrees toe out each wheel.

This amount of toe out will reduce tire scrub and understeer, and will not add to tire wear.

Rear

Camber to -.5 degrees. Reducing the camber to this level will reduce understeer. With a 1 inch drop or lower, you cannot obtain this number without Pedders rear camber eccentrics

Toe to .05 degrees toe in each wheel.

For Aggressive Track

Now these settings are only for a Camaro with a Complete Pedders Track suspension Package. This setup with street performance tires can hit 1.38g's thru the turns, and have great tire temps all across. Paul Tracy said this setup was "PERFECT"

Front

Cambers to -2.4 degrees Caster 7.5 to 8.0. Requires Pedders Caster eccentricsToe .25 degees toe out each wheel. (This setting should not be used for the street)

I vote STICKY this thread, that way others don't have to go hunt this info down like I did. My alignment guy was able to get both my front and rear camber to -1.0 degrees without any suspension modifications or special bolts, and I have a 2 1/8" drop on front and 2" drop on the rear.

I vote STICKY this thread, that way others don't have to go hunt this info down like I did. My alignment guy was able to get both my front and rear camber to -1.0 degrees without any suspension modifications or special bolts, and I have a 2 1/8" drop on front and 2" drop on the rear.

If you are -1.0 degrees front and rear, you are not set up for max abilities.

Having the ability to add 1 to 1.25 degrees positive caster is a big deal. Having the rear cambers to complement the front cambers is again a big deal. But if you are happy with your setup, that is a big deal as well.

If you are -1.0 degrees front and rear, you are not set up for max abilities.

Having the ability to add 1 to 1.25 degrees positive caster is a big deal. Having the rear cambers to complement the front cambers is again a big deal. But if you are happy with your setup, that is a big deal as well.

thanks
mike
dms

He was able to get my front Caster set to around 7.5 to 7.7 if I remember correctly. I'm going to drive it like this for a while and see how things work out. Then I'll take it back down and get everything checked again in a few months.

He was able to get my front Caster set to around 7.5 to 7.7 if I remember correctly. I'm going to drive it like this for a while and see how things work out. Then I'll take it back down and get everything checked again in a few months.

Hey everyone! This is a great idea to get a thread together with everyone's recommendations. Below is an image of a downloadable PDF on our website, with our recommendations for various alignment settings according to end-use. Please let us know if you have any questions at all!

Ok...I have a question on the alignment. I have a set of Hotchkis springs on the way and should be installing them shortly after I get them. I don't know all that much about Camber/Caster/Toe etc. so bare with my wording if it's not correct.

This is my daily driver and I won't really be going to the track.....maybe once or twice if at all. I would like it to handle nicely but not necessarily at the cost of eating up my tires prematurely.

If I remember reading correctly others have said that a -.05 was the most they could get out of the way the factory had the car setup. Looking at everyones recommendation for a Performance Street setup you are recommending more than that.

So, should I just have them set my alignment to the factory settings and/or have them get as close to the Peformance Street settings as possible or is there some other settings you would recommned for someone in my driving situation?

Ok...I have a question on the alignment. I have a set of Hotchkis springs on the way and should be installing them shortly after I get them. I don't know all that much about Camber/Caster/Toe etc. so bare with my wording if it's not correct.

This is my daily driver and I won't really be going to the track.....maybe once or twice if at all. I would like it to handle nicely but not necessarily at the cost of eating up my tires prematurely.

If I remember reading correctly others have said that a -.05 was the most they could get out of the way the factory had the car setup. Looking at everyones recommendation for a Performance Street setup you are recommending more than that.

So, should I just have them set my alignment to the factory settings and/or have them get as close to the Peformance Street settings as possible or is there some other settings you would recommned for someone in my driving situation?

You have ample adjustability of from camber at any height

You currently do not have any caster adjustability. But caster can be increased and made adjustable with our Pedders front Adjuster kit

When dropping your rear, negative camber can significantly increase. Excess negative camber in the back end increases understeer. Thru telemetry, we have determined your vehicle will handle better at -.5 degrees rather than -1.0 degrees. I have yet to see a Camaro able to get to -.5 degrees camber at the rear with OE eccentrics. Do I think it is possible? Yes. There are potential tolerance issues that may allow one to be able to get this low. But that would be the exception, rather than the rule. Pedders Rear Alignment Kit

You currently do not have any caster adjustability. But caster can be increased and made adjustable with our Pedders front Adjuster kit

When dropping your rear, negative camber can significantly increase. Excess negative camber in the back end increases understeer. Thru telemetry, we have determined your vehicle will handle better at -.5 degrees rather than -1.0 degrees. I have yet to see a Camaro able to get to -.5 degrees camber at the rear with OE eccentrics. Do I think it is possible? Yes. There are potential tolerance issues that may allow one to be able to get this low. But that would be the exception, rather than the rule. Pedders Rear Alignment Kit

thanks,
mike
dms

Man.....don't really want to spend onther $200+ right now if I don't have to. What would your suggestion be if I didn't go with an alignment kit for now?

I've been keeping an eye on the suggested settings with a 1" drop, but how does changing tread width effect things? Wider tires obviously

does not actually affect the alignment that much but it can change the way the car handles. I.E. a split configured tire might look great, but the handling is reduced as compaired to having a oversized tires front and rear being equal.

We have worked on quite a few 5th Gens at our R&D center here in California, as well as on-site at Willow Springs during several track tests. With our Hotchkis springs and OE alignment capabilities, the vehicle can adjust camber from -0.4° to -2.6° for the front and -0.7° to -1.8° for the rear. No need to buy a kit or anything like that. For your situation where tire wear is important on a street driven car, we suggest the following alignment specs:

We have worked on quite a few 5th Gens at our R&D center here in California, as well as on-site at Willow Springs during several track tests. With our Hotchkis springs and OE alignment capabilities, the vehicle can adjust camber from -0.4° to -2.6° for the front and -0.7° to -1.8° for the rear. No need to buy a kit or anything like that. For your situation where tire wear is important on a street driven car, we suggest the following alignment specs:

Front:
Camber: -0.75° to -1°
Toe: 1/16 total toe in

Rear:
Camber: -0.8°
Toe: 3/16 total toe in

Hope this helps!

Thanks.....

I have another question for you. One of the Pedders guys suggested the following about loosing the bolts, driving around slowly, and then re-tighten before alignment. It definately sounds logical....should I do this for the Hotchkis springs as well. Also, I'm assuming I won't need to cut the bumpstops?

Quote:

The most important step in installing lowering coils is to time the OE rotational bushes to the new ride height. EVERY control arm bolt must be loose: front LCA, front radius arm, rear toe, trailing, inner lower... With the bolts loose drive the Camaro SLOWY around the lot and on to the alignment rack rails. With the weightbof the car on the wheels tighten all the bolts. The bushes are now timed to your new ride height. This means your second set of springs the bushes are now working with your new Peddes lowering coils.

It realy doesn't matter with who or how you lower your car,Loosing the control arm pivot bolts and retightening them with the wieght on the tires should be done.This is called timing the bushings,if not done the ride can be slightly stiffer and will cause the bushings to fail premature.This applies to the factory rubber bushings.Most aftermarket bushings piviot by design unlike the factory bushings.

It realy doesn't matter with who or how you lower your car,Loosing the control arm pivot bolts and retightening them with the wieght on the tires should be done.This is called timing the bushings,if not done the ride can be slightly stiffer and will cause the bushings to fail premature.This applies to the factory rubber bushings.Most aftermarket bushings piviot by design unlike the factory bushings.

Thanks....it makes sense to do this.

By chance does anyone have a pic of the Control Arm Pivot bolts and any of the other bolt locations that should be loosened before alignment? I'm going to have the Alignment guy do it but since I don't know 100% which bolts need to be loosened I would like to see a pic so that I have a clue as I watch what he losens.

By chance does anyone have a pic of the Control Arm Pivot bolts and any of the other bolt locations that should be loosened before alignment? I'm going to have the Alignment guy do it but since I don't know 100% which bolts need to be loosened I would like to see a pic so that I have a clue as I watch what he losens.

With the exception of the cradle bushings, if there is a bushing on it, you should loosen it. The biggest culpret is the upper rear control arm bushing, which is, of course, the hardest to get to.